Return
to John 1:12
1:12
But as many as
received Him.
The word receive
implies more than
merely accepting the
value of Jesus'
teaching. It
indicates action,
like extending your
hand to take an
object that someone
is holding before
you. The object, in
this case, is Jesus.
The Bible describes
eternal life through
Jesus as a gift:
Rom 3:23,24
for all have
sinned and fall
short of the
glory of God, 24
being justified
as a gift by His
grace through
the redemption
which is in
Christ Jesus
Rom 6:23 For
the wages of sin
is death, but
the free gift of
God is eternal
life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Eph 2:4,5,8,9
But God, being
rich in mercy,
because of His
great love with
which He loved
us, 5 even when
we were dead in
our
transgressions,
made us alive
together with
Christ (by grace
you have been
saved)… 8 For
by grace you
have been saved
through faith;
and that not of
yourselves, it
is the gift of
God; 9 not as a
result of works,
so that no one
may boast.
Most
religions--but not
Christianity--are
based on human
performance. If
one's performance is
good enough, one
will go to heaven or
another desirable
place after the
earthly life, and
will have a good
life on earth. If
performance is
substandard, the
person will be
rejected by the
higher being and go
to hell or some
other unpleasant
place. Christianity,
by contrast, teaches
that no person is
good enough to be
accepted into God’s
kingdom, and,
therefore, we can be
accepted by God only
by God’s grace and
mercy, which is
possible through
Jesus Christ.
Picture a court
case. The
prosecuting attorney
contends that you
are guilty of
wrongdoing, making
you unworthy of
God's kingdom. You
can plead guilty or
innocent. Those who
follow a
performance-based
religion are
pleading innocent,
indicating to the
judge that they have
lived a good enough
life—based on the
rules of their
religion—to be
worthy of entrance
into heaven. Those
who choose to trust
Christ are pleading
guilty, admitting
that they are not
worthy of God's
kingdom based on
their own
"goodness."
Thus Christians,
pleading guilty, are
asking for mercy;
but religious
persons, pleading
innocent, are asking
for judgment. The
Judge judges those
who plead innocent
based on their
deeds. Every one of
them are pronounced
guilty--because
"all have
sinned and fallen
short of the glory
of God" (Rom
3:23)--and given the
death penalty. For
the Christians,
however, who have
pleaded guilty and
asked for mercy
through Jesus
Christ, the Judge
acknowledges that
they committed deeds
worthy of death, but
sets them free. The
Christians are
guilty of wrongdoing
and deserve the
penalty, just as the
others. But the
Judge sets them free
because someone
else--the Judge's
own Son--sat in the
electric chair on
their behalf. The
Judge's Son took the
death penalty for
them. Although they
are guilty, they
receive mercy and
are forgiven. In
fact, the charges
are completely
erased from their
record, having been
nailed to the cross
of Jesus Christ:
Col 2:13,14
When you were
dead in your
transgressions
and the
uncircumcision
of your flesh,
He made you
alive together
with Him, having
forgiven us all
our
transgressions,
14 having
canceled out the
certificate of
debt consisting
of decrees
against us,
which was
hostile to us;
and He has taken
it out of the
way, having
nailed it to the
cross.
When a person receives
Christ, he is
admitting that he
needs Christ for
forgiveness and new
life. He is pleading
guilty, asking for
mercy. He is
accepting God's gift
of eternal life.
Believing
and receiving
go hand in hand. One
will not genuinely
receive Jesus unless
he truly believes
that Jesus can be
trusted with his
life on earth and
his eternal destiny.
The Greek root of believe
in 1:12 is pisteuo.
Pisteuo
belief amounts to
more than
intellectual
acknowledgement of a
fact. It is belief
that involves a
willingness to
commit to, trust in,
or follow someone.
Parents may say that
they believe what is
said about a
babysitter's
qualifications, but
will not leave their
children with her
unless they really
believe (pisteuo)
in her. An engineer
may believe that a
board straddled
between two tall
beams is strong
enough to hold her
weight, but walking
across the board
will demonstrate pisteuo
belief in the
board's strength. To
believe (pisteuo)
Jesus is to walk
across the board.
Jesus asked the
disciples to follow
Him. He did not tell
them where He was
going. He did not
try to convince them
that their lives
would be easy or
glamorous. He just
said, "follow
Me." You have
to really trust (pisteuo)
someone to put
everything aside and
follow him.
Everybody trusts
in something or
someone for answers
to the big questions
in life: Where
did I come from? Why
am I here? How I can
I have a meaningful
and content life
filled with joy and
happiness? What will
happen to me after I
die--can I do
anything about it?
People put their
trust either in
someone else, God,
themselves, the
government, or
things. The
important faith
factor is not the
amount of faith that
one has, but the
validity of the
object of the faith.
The engineer who
walked on the board
straddled between
two tall beams will
either be secure on
the board or fall to
her death. The
outcome will depend,
not on the amount
of faith that the
engineer has in the
board, but on the object
of her faith--the
board. If the board
is strong enough,
she will live. If it
isn't, she will die.
The word believe
(or believes) is
found 69 times in
the book of John.
John wants the
readers of his book
to entrust their
lives to Christ! For
this reason he
provided much
evidence that Jesus
Christ is one and
equal with God, and
the only way to new
and eternal life.
John clearly states
the purpose of his
book:
John 20:31
but these have
been written so
that you may
believe that
Jesus is the
Christ, the Son
of God; and that
believing you
may have life in
His name.
As you continue
reading through the
book of John, ask
God to reveal truth
to you. Tell Him
that you do not want
to be deceived into
trusting in the
wrong person or
thing. Ask Him to
clarify whether or
not you should
entrust your life to
Jesus Christ.
If
you are ready to
entrust your life to
Christ, you can do
it right now. There
is nothing that you
need to do before
receiving Jesus. And
there is no need for
a special ceremony.
Some people find
it difficult to
believe just how
simple it is to
become a Christian.
There is nothing we
can do to earn
forgiveness and new
life through Christ.
One can only receive
the gift from God
and thank Him for
it. Do not be
deceived into
thinking that,
before you entrust
yourself to Christ,
you need to clean up
your life, give up
certain habits, give
money, give time,
come to a better
understanding of the
Bible, or perform
acts of service.
None of these things
will help you be a
Christian. Christ,
and only Christ,
makes a person a
Christian.
To entrust
yourself to Christ,
simply tell God, in
prayer, that you
choose to place your
faith in Jesus
Christ to receive
forgiveness and
life. Tell God that
you want Him to be
in charge of your
life from this point
forward. Here's a
sample prayer:
God, I want
to be forgiven
for my sin. I
want to know
You. I place my
faith in Jesus
Christ to
receive
forgiveness of
sin and new
life. I want
Jesus to come
into my life and
make me new. I
want You to
control my life
from this point
forward. Thank
you for
forgiving me.
Thank you for
giving me
Christ. Please
open my eyes to
understand my
new life in
Christ. Amen
To them He gave
the right to become
children of God,
even to those who
believe in His name.
Those who receive
Jesus and believe in
His name (power,
rank, authority,
majesty) are born
into God's family.
Think of it as
adoption. A young
boy could not walk
into the office of a
powerful king or
president--he would
be stopped by
guards. But if the
king were to adopt
the boy as his own
son, he would have
full access to the
king at any time.
The boy would have
access to the king,
not because of
anything the boy
did, but because of
what the king did.
He has access to the
king because of who
he is--the king's
child--not because
of his performance.
What's more, the
king's guards would
become the boy's
guards. The king's
servants would
become the boy's
servants. The boy
enters in to the
king's power and
glory because he is
a son.
Similarly, one
who receives Christ
has full access to
God because of
Christ. We become
empowered with the
Life of Christ. We
are now children of
the King-- the
King's heirs. We
have inherited the
Spirit of the life
of Christ Jesus:
Gal 4:7
Therefore you
are no longer a
slave, but a
son; and if a
son, then an
heir through
God.
Titus 3:5-7
He saved us, not
on the basis of
deeds which we
have done in
righteousness,
but according to
His mercy, by
the washing of
regeneration and
renewing by the
Holy Spirit, 6
whom He poured
out upon us
richly through
Jesus Christ our
Savior, 7 so
that being
justified by His
grace we would
be made heirs
according to the
hope of eternal
life.
Rom 8:15 For
you have not
received a
spirit of
slavery leading
to fear again,
but you have
received a
spirit of
adoption as sons
by which we cry
out, "Abba!
Father!"
1:13
This is a
supernatural
spiritual birth. No
person can earn it.
No person deserves
it. It is not of
blood, as with
physical birth—it
is a spiritual
birth. It is not by the
will of the flesh—it
cannot be obtained
through self
discipline or a
diligent effort to
adhere to a set of
religious rules. Nor
is it by the will
of man—nobody
becomes a child of
God by the decision
of a church
committee, by
participating in a
religious ceremony,
or by following
church traditions.
It is a work of God.
It is entirely God’s
doing:
1 Cor 1:30,31
But by His doing
you are in
Christ Jesus,
who became to us
wisdom from God,
and
righteousness
and
sanctification,
and redemption,
31 so that, just
as it is
written,
"LET HIM
WHO BOASTS,
BOAST IN THE
LORD."
Although
spiritual birth is
brought about by
God, rather than by
man, each of us must
decide either to
accept or reject
Jesus Christ. This
may seem confusing—that
spiritual birth is
all God’s doing,
yet we are given the
freedom to decide
for or against
Jesus. Be assured,
and comforted, that
God wants you to
know Him. He wants
you to receive
Christ and be born
into His family:
2 Pet 3:9 The
Lord is not slow
about His
promise, as some
count slowness,
but is patient
toward you, not
wishing for any
to perish but
for all to come
to repentance.
1 Tim 2:3,4
This is good and
acceptable in
the sight of God
our Savior, 4
who desires all
men to be saved
and to come to
the knowledge of
the truth.